Gluten Free Maple Pear Upside-Down Cake -

Slices of upside-down pear cake on plates with the cake next to them.

5 from 1 vote

Gluten Free Maple Pear Upside-Down Cake

This gluten free maple upside-down pear cake has a dense, buttery crumb that's finished with a thick maple syrup-brown sugar topping and plenty of juicy pears.

Prep Time30

Cook Time40

Total Time1 10

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Diet: Gluten Free

Servings: servings

Calories: 467kcal

Author: Nicole Spiridakis

Ingredients

Topping

¼ cup unsalted butter
¼ cup maple syrup
¼ cup brown sugar
2-3 pears , peeled, cored, and sliced

Cake

1 ½ cups oat flour (180 grams)
¼ cup almond flour (30 grams)
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
½ cup unsalted butter , at room temperature
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
½ cup whole milk

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Make Topping

In a saucepan over medium heat, melt the ¼ cup unsalted butter then stir in the ¼ cup maple syrup and ¼ cup brown sugar. Cook for a few minutes until thickened. Grease and line an 8 or 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper, then pour in the butter syrup. Arrange the sliced 2-3 pears in a decorative circular pattern on top of it.

Make Cake

Preheat the oven to 350℉.
In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 ½ cups oat flour, ¼ cup almond flour, 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder, and ½ teaspoon fine sea salt.
In a large bowl, and using an an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the ½ cup unsalted butter and 1 cup sugar until pale and fluffy, 3 to 5 minutes. Add the 2 large eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract and mix thoroughly.
Reduce mixer speed to low. Add flour mixture in 2 batches, alternating with the ½ cup whole milk and beat until just combined. Transfer batter to prepared pan; smooth top with an offset spatula. Rest for 15 minutes to hydrate the flour, then bake until a cake tester comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Turn out cake onto rack to cool completely.

Notes

Try another fruit. As mentioned above, you can use pretty much any fruit you like to make this cake! A natural swap is sliced apples, and sliced peaches, nectarines, plums, and apricots also would be so lovely. I also like making this with pitted, halved cherries in summer. So good!
Use all-purpose gluten-free flour. If you prefer to use a 1:1 gluten-free flour mix - like my homemade gluten free flour blend - use 210 grams (about 1 ¾ cups) of gluten-free flour for the combination of oat and almond flours.
Cool the cake before turning it out of the pan. This cake is delicate when warm, so let it cool a little longer in the pan that you might do for other cakes. I leave it for at least 20 minutes, and often longer, before turning it out onto a rack. This is where the circle of parchment on the bottom of the pan becomes very important. Gently run a knife around the edges of the cake then flip it out onto a rack. I like to have 2 racks handy so that I can then turn it right side up on another rack before transferring it to a plate.
To serve: Vanilla ice cream or homemade whipped cream, a little salted caramel sauce drizzled over the top, or, for extra flavor, some maple glaze.

Nutrition